Need swelled throughout her body. She had to be with Malik the way she had to breathe to stay alive. Closer, she thought, stroking his tongue with hers, then closing her lips around him and sucking. Closer and harder and faster and just plain more of everything.
He broke their kiss with a harsh gasp of breath, then rested one hand against her cheek. Laughter lurked in his dark eyes and pulled at the corners of his damp mouth. “If you’re so passionate, I won’t be able to control myself.” He touched a fingertip to her mouth. “That was an observation, not a criticism. I can feel the desire inside you and it creates a very physical response. But I don’t want to shock you by ripping off your clothes and simply having my way with you.”
She knew what he meant. The first time they made love it should be slow and tender and romantic. Lengthy, gentle touches, hours spent in discovery. She was sure that was what every other woman on the planet would want. But Malik had made her think about things she’d nearly forgotten. And the need he’d awakened could not be denied.
Even now she felt herself readying for him. Between her legs, the dampness grew. Her br**sts were tight, swollen and aching with the need to be touched. Liana knew in her head that she would be completely fine if she and Malik didn’t make love right now, but in her heart, she thought she might very well die.
She slipped her fingers through his thick, dark hair and drew him back to her. “I don’t shock so easily,” she murmured just before she plunged her tongue into his mouth.
Malik held still for all of a heartbeat as her words sunk in, then he growled low in his throat and began to touch her.
His hands were everywhere. Her face, her shoulders, her hips, her thighs. He tugged at the folds of her blue silk dress, working it loose until he could unwrap it in the front and expose her to his gaze. Even as his tongue brushed against hers, his fingers searched for and found the tight points of her aroused ni**les. He teased her, stroking and gently tugging, sending ribbons of need through her body to settle into the feminine core.
He reached behind her and unfastened her bra, then pulled it off and tossed it to the ground. Shifting slightly, he lowered his head to her br**sts and kissed every inch of sensitized flesh. Liana found herself half rising off the bed as waves of sensation washed over her. She wanted…she needed…. She’d never been so desperately aroused in her life.
When his lips closed over her right nipple, she let out a moan that started in her belly. The pleasure was so intense. His fingers matched the movements on her other breast, forcing her to cup his head and hold him in place. It was too wonderful, too perfect. If he kept doing this, she would surely die.
“Don’t stop,” she begged.
“Never,” he promised, the word lingering on her skin.
He flicked the folds of the dress open and reached down to slide his fingers under her panties. As his hand moved over her stomach she thought briefly of stretch marks and those pesky twenty pounds. But before she could figure out what to do, his fingers were in her damp curls and searching for the center of her being. And then she didn’t care what she looked like because it felt too good to matter.
He explored her with the sensitivity and thoroughness of a man on a very important assignment. First he gently slipped into the protective folds of skin and found the place that would bring them both the ultimate release. He eased inside, first one finger, then two, moving in and out, making her writhe beneath him.
“So wet,” he murmured, still teasing her breast. “So hot and ready.”
He moved slightly, shifting so that he could kiss her mouth again. As he did so, his fingers found the tiny spot that was the center of her being. He brushed over it, making her jump. He circled the place, moving lightly around until he settled into a rhythm that made her gasp and plead and wrap her arms around him. Her hips began to pulse; her thighs trembled. She felt both hot and cold, and it was all too much.
He stopped suddenly and pulled off her panties. Then he slipped out of his robes. Underneath he wore a simple linen shirt and slacks. Soon he was out of those as well, and when his briefs hit the floor, she saw him in all his naked glory.
He was powerful and tanned, with broad shoulders and narrow hips. A light dusting of hair bisected his flat belly, drawing her gaze to his impressive, throbbing need. When she reached out to touch him, he drew back.
“I couldn’t stand it,” he said simply, returning to her side and lowering his mouth to hers.
His fingers trailed down, once again finding that one spot that made her strain toward him and beg.
He worked slowly, arousing her to a fevered pitch, then backing off until she was nearly calm. Again and again, she felt herself building. She moved her hands over him, discovering the feel of his warm skin and the way his muscles bunched at her touch.
She’d forgotten what it was like to be with a man, she thought hazily, as once again she spiraled higher and closer to the goal of her release. She’d forgotten about the warmth and the weight and sense of well-being. Except this wasn’t exactly what she remembered from her past. It was altogether much better.
And then he brushed over that one place and she couldn’t think anymore, because regardless of what happened in the rest of the world, her course had been set. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, then shuddered as her body contracted and released in a rhythm that made her feel as if she were bathed in the most perfectly exquisite light. Pleasure rushed through her, emptying her of tension, of worry, of everything but the glory of having Malik touch her in this way.